------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Woodlandwalker
concept:
Cold winds blow through the artic night… Taskmaster Santa rules with fright.
Toys are to be made but at what cost… Elves are enslaved with all hope being lost.
Life at the North Pole is anything but jolly… Escape is not possible to do so is folly.
Red and green worms attached upon the head… fill the elves thoughts with terror and dread.
Zombies they are, doing Santa’s bidding… the story is true, and you thought we were kidding.
The Artic Brain-sucking Worms have been used by Santa for hundreds of years. Once he found that he was in need of a larger and larger workforce to make toys for all the greedy children of the world. He decided to enslave the Elfish worker population … placing the worms upon their bald heads, allowing them to parasitically feed upon elfish brain matter and making their hosts complacent…easy to suggestion. Now screams in the night do more than any magic spell could to keep away visitors to the cold factories of the north.
Merry Christmas… enjoy your presents.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: mr-nick
concept: Slobbering Were Muncher
The Elf eaters stalk the North Pole, particulary the icy glaciers around Christmas town. These horrible creature lie in wait buried beneath the snow, with just their candy cane horns sticking out. When a hungry elf draws near, it jumps out and devours the tasty little blighters (elves are rumoured to taste like cinnamon). The Eskimos of Greenland say that elf eaters are the result of a were-wolf eating an elf, one taste of such scruptious delight fules their hunger to extremes and slowly turns them in to Slobbering Were Munchers, or elf eaters as they are more commonly known...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: mattbyng
concept: Elf-Eating Grubbolugg
This ugly creature is known as an Elf-Eating Grubbolugg. It spends most of it's time hiding in tall trees and what-not, waiting patiently for a poor, innocent elf to get too close. The elf is attracted to the site by the glowing cheeks of the Grubbolugg. The nearer the elf creeps, the more fiercely the cheeks glow, increasing the curiosity of the individual. When the victim is finally in range, the glowing disappears and in an instant the Elf-Eating Grubbolugg strikes, dragging it's victim into the trees where the poor elf is devoured.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: FlyingMilton
concept: Santa's Chimney Snake
As the digital age rolled in and demand for simple toys diminished, hundreds of elf craftsmen had to be layed off to make way for the new high tech workforce. Bitter and unemployed, they sought to ruin christmas once and for all and decided to play god.
It was no surprise when the plan backfired as their creation was brought to life and consumed the whole crew. But a few elves were not enough to satisfy the hunger of this massive snake. Reindeer, snowmen and gingerbread men fell victim to the worm. The terror did not last long as snakes cannot survive in the frigid air of the North Pole. It had to find a place to rest and Santa's grande chimney fit the bill.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: misledtomisery
concept: root wyrm
aka - earth swimmer. aka - elf eater.
This creature, the root wyrm, has a unique camoflauge which makes their heads look similar to a tree stump. They travel by burrowing deep under the surface, and surface only to feed, which occurs roughly once a year. They feed off magical creatures, prefering elves, hence their nick name, the elf eater. These prey offer the most magical sustanance to the root wyrm. Proping their heads above the surface, they wait, mouth wide open until an unfortunate victim comes too close. The root like tentacles covering their heads are used to grab and entangle the prey, dragging it into the mouth of the beast.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Moai
concept: Spectacled Baublehead
In northern Siberia, far from any human habitation, there is a chasm, twenty feet wide and thousands of feet deep. If one fell down that chasm, after plummeting for a time one would find that gravity had reversed. If our hypothetical traveler chose to ascend the rest of the way through the chasm, he would eventually reach a temperate paradise of eternal light and creatures unimaginable. He would have reached the land that time forgot and that science denies: the inner surface of the hollow earth. Should he choose to explore further--and who could not, having come so far to such a wondrous place?--he would soon find that he is not the only human being to be found in this world. The interior of the earth is inhabited, and the people, short in stature and quite industrious, call themselves Yelffs. On the surface of the earth, the word has been changed over centuries into "Elves." Yes, Elves, Santa Claus, and his legendary workshop do exist, but on the inner surface of the earth, not on the North Pole, as in myth.Millions of years ago, the inner surface of the earth was more accessible to creatures from the outer surface. However, as continental drift has moved the sole opening between the two surfaces into ever more remote and inhospitable terrain, the creatures of the inner earth evolved in isolation. One product of these strange evolutionary circumstances is the Spectacled Baublehead, a large, antlered marsupial. Its closest living relative on the outer surface is the thylocine, or Tasmanian Wolf. The Spectacled Baublehead is an omnivore, relying mostly on shrubbery but occasionally supplementing its diet with a small animal, such as a rodent or fish. It hunts no large food, as it is actually a timid and wary animal. This is in part a learned habit, for it has long been the preferred quarry of Yelff hunters. The Spectacled Baublehead produces to valuable recourses: its flesh, which is tender and flavorful, and the baubles to which it owes its name. During mating season, male Baubleheads produce shimmering spheres, which grow out of their antlers. The purpose of these baubles is to simultaneously intimidate males with less luster and to impress females. The baubles also impress Yelffs, who in tribal days used the baubles as decorations of status, as well as valuable currency. In more recent industrialized years, the baubles have been put to use in making ornaments and other such holiday pretties. In the mid twentieth century, the Baubleheads had nearly gone extinct. As a result, the Yelff parliament passed legislation prohibiting the killing of Baubleheads solely for their baubles, and sharply reduced the amount of Baubleheads that could be hunted at all. It is considered the first great victory for the inner earth environmentalist movement.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: JCole76
concept:
The elves of Northland have long feared the howl
The flumpth, flumpth, flumpth on fresh fallen snow
Followed by that every so dreadful deep, soft growl
Through the Candy Cane forest it lurks and it sneaks
Looking and smelling just like a Christmas tree
Quitely stalking un-suspecting elf treats

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------artist: Michael Jaecks
concept: Lampworker Dragon
Adult Lampworker Dragons measure 8 to 12 inches in length. Their curious reproductive habits result in some of the loveliest holiday decorations. Lampworkers mate in late fall and the females lay thier molten, glass-like eggs in the first snows of early December. Females may lay up to 20 eggs a season each. Males, however, have but one sperm to donate per mating cycle. Fertilized eggs turn an unremarkable brown and grow to double the size of unfertilized eggs. They hatch days later and the young lampworkers grow into adulthood by the next mating season.
The surplus unfertilized eggs harden surprisingly strong and light. A number of environmental factors vary their size, shape, color and pattern including the weather and dragon's diet prior to mating season. Artisans collect the leftover eggs each winter and gently tool them into delightful decorations for the holidays. Lampworker Dragon eggs come in three grades: Semi-Precious, which are closest to spherical and most delicate in hue, Very Fine, which are largely smooth and more brightly colored, and Common, which are more irregular in shape and color, but no less lovely. Common Lampworker eggs are often drilled and beaded into garlands. The higher grades are fashioned into larger ornaments and very often the largest of the Semi-Precious grade are simply displayed in their natural state.

feeesh
Your entry basically shows only a head, the rest of the image is kinda abstract and i can't spot any anatomical features like legs, body, arms or something else which could be a hint for the creature design.

ShadowOfTheSun
Your creature is not shown. It is hidden in the Teddy and we have no clue how it looks like, sorry, but that is not acceptable for an activity which is about creature design.

close to rejection:

Paolo13
I know you're not so good in coloring, but your lineart is making up for like 10 times...so i am not sure if the coloring ruined your artwork or if it was rushed but it doesn't look very finished to me. Maybe next time polish your lineart to the best level you can achieve and enter with a black/white entry if you don't feel comfortable with coloring. There are no rules that your entry must be colored. But still if you want to improve your coloring i recommend continuing with colors I don't want to hold your progress.

Tom Garden
Hmm, buddy, this entry again didn't look as polished as your usual entries...and that you sent in 2 images wasn't making things easier, this way the viewer will only see the head part of your creature, because as always only 1 image will be taken to the poll.

Comments

Hey everyone,

I voted for Simonl because it was a well done image (good details). It also brought me a laugh so it deserved the vote. Besides Simonl I would've voted for misledtomisery since it was done nicely as well, but it took me a second to see the earth wyrm. Good job overall though to everyone and I wish a happy new year to all .

Chupacabra - Your piece reminds me of Frazetta - composition wise and also somewhat the rough painting style. Good stuff! I think the main reason why you're not ahead in the poll is because - well, it's just a lizard.

I voted Chupacabra, I liked his entry, it looks simple and laconic, but it has many well thought out details and effects to be likable. Like an interesting view from beneath, atmosphere, trophies from the recent event, light irony or even sarcasm with Christmas tree association and I his story.
The birds a bit rough looking, I think.
Many interesting entries in this round though, I would like give more votes to some artists

Michael Jaecks , it's my second choice. Beautiful idea, story and I like ornaments. BG is not up to the rest in my opinion.
FlyingMilton for good story and impressive anatomy of the snake, It was scary looking entry.
SimonR, it is funny and beautifully executed.

Micheal got it for me...i just love the dragon and the story is really creative. The rendering is also wonderful and there's been a huge improvement in rendering in even the few months I've been watching this event...

I voted for Simonl, there is a " reality " in the image, i can feel the effort's creature. haha please sorry for the bad english.
But i really like the Woodlandwalker and Michael Jaecks pieces, great job guys!

Caskin, dragon4lunch, Espenboi, jynx, Phylum, Simonl, wizo5454, I can't thank you enough for your votes. I still can hardly believe that I've received seven votes, when my previous CoW record was one. So, thank you all for the support and encouragement that these votes represent.